An optical method to predict early-stage cervical cancer

doi:10.1038/nindia.2017.148 Published online 30 November 2017

Researchers have developed a
computer-based optical method that can distinguish precancerous cervical cells
from healthy cells, making it a potentially useful tool for diagnosing cervical
cancer long before its onset1.

Precancerous cells are not a sign
of cancer, but they can potentially grow into cancer cells. Optical methods are
sensitive and potentially capable of
discriminating various stages of the disease’s progression. However, tissues
possess complex patterns, making it difficult to identify disease-markers using
optical methods.

In search of an efficient
optical method for assessing the risks of cervical cancer, scientists from the Indian
Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata and the Indian Institute
of Technology in Kanpur invented an optical method that uses two integrated
computer models to detect optical signals specific to precancerous and healthy
tissues isolated from the cervix of patients.

When white light was shone on
the samples of precancerous and healthy tissues, the precancerous and healthy
tissues scattered light differently, generating tissue-specific optical signals
that the models deciphered with great accuracy.

The
new method was able to exclude noise
generated along with the optical signals, producing better classification
results than other computer-based optical methods.

This method could be used in clinical
set-ups for screening cervical and other types of cancers, says lead researcher
Sabyasachi Mukhopadhyay.